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Latex Foam

Latex foam, also known as foam rubber, is a soft, air-filled synthetic material. Manufactured by forcibly introducing air or carbon dioxide to latex, a naturally occurring or artificially produced mixture of water and rubber molecules, latex foam has proven to be the ideal material for myriad products, due to its soft, cushion-like structure, its mouldable nature and highly versatile production methods.

Latex Foam

Latex foam is the result of a lengthy development process that began over two centuries ago, when French explorers first discovered South American natives playing with crude balls of rubber. By the early 1800s latex had already been mixed with turpentine to create waterproof cloth for raincoats, but it was not until the 1940s, when the U.S. was forced to refine the manufacture of synthetic latex due to Japanís occupation of over 90% of the natural latex plantations in the Far East, that foam latex began to enjoy the height of its popularity in the form of mattresses.

Latex Foam Mattresses

Indeed, this is still the most commercial use for latex foam, as the mouldable quality of the material creates a surface that shapes itself around the sleeperís body perfectly. Latex foam mattresses also possess many orthopaedic benefits, especially for those who have medical problems or trouble sleeping. Thanks to recent scientific developments, additional chemicals can now be added to latex foamís original structure, creating variations that contain heightened rubber-like qualities, such as the much commercialised memory foam.

Foam Latex Masks

The development of latex foam revolutionised the movie business, allowing practically any strange looking creature a director could imagine to be moulded and painted. It opened the door for innovative directors, such as Jim Henson who, without latex foam puppetry would never have been able to create the fantasy lands of his films in the 1980s. Latex foam masks and prosthetics can even be applied directly onto the actors themselves, transforming them from ordinary humans to mythical beasts simply by attaching latex foam moulds seamlessly to their skin. They are also becoming more and more available to consumers, with Halloween masks and masquerade masks being extremely popular.

The development of latex foam revolutionised the movie business, allowing practically any strange looking creature a director could imagine to be moulded and painted. It opened the door for innovative directors, such as Jim Henson who, without latex foam puppetry would never have been able to create the fantasy lands of his films in the 1980s. Latex foam masks and prosthetics can even be applied directly onto the actors themselves, transforming them from ordinary humans to mythical beasts simply by attaching latex foam moulds seamlessly to their skin. They are also becoming more and more available to consumers, with Halloween masks and masquerade masks being extremely popular.